Pros and cons of cross-platform mobile apps

Digital marketing is mainstream marketing nowadays. Every business has a website and a mobile app to enhance the reach of their business and to increase customer interaction. A website is definitely an effective tool for digital marketing but having a mobile app is far better. Mobile phone app development has proven itself to be immensely favorable for marketing any business as the apps have more reach and are easier to navigate than a website. We spend a major chunk of our lives on our mobile devices now and as the world is getting conveniently accessible through them every company or brand is trying their best to reach their customers through this platform.

As the technology grows it has a lot of faces and ways to spread. There is not only one type of mobile app but different platforms have different requirements, benefits, restrictions and user base. They even cater different potential clients. This makes the room for mobile app developers to create apps which are cross-platform.

What is a cross-platform app?

Mobile apps are the best and most effective way to spread your message and advertise your business or product. There is not only one kind of software related to mobile apps but quite a few, for instance, iOS, Android and blackberry. It is an essential requirement while developing your app that it should be compatible with all the platforms to reach a maximum number of clients. Therefore the developers now, are more in the favor of developing cross-platform apps so that the related business is able to influence a vast number of users.

Pros of a cross-platform app

Development of cross-platform apps does not only offer many benefits for the users and the related business but it aids the developers in various ways as well.

Unlimited client reach

Developing a cross-platform app increases the client reach beyond any limitations. As the completion between various software to stay on top of the list is increasing day by day, especially Android and iOS, developing an app which caters to both of them seamlessly is definitely beneficial for any business.

Effective and convenient marketing

If you hear about a new cool app launching soon which can be of immense help to you in various ways, is extremely exciting but it is a major turn down when you come to know that it is not compatible with the mobile software you use. This limits the client reach and popularity ratio. Having a cross-platform app especially for marketing needs is most effective as it will enhance the user number and the product you are marketing, available for various users.

Cost friendly

Having different apps developed for different platforms is genuinely going to cost more, instead, if you get one app developed that too for various platforms, it will surely be light on your pocket. It is not only one time saving but when your app needs an update that will be simultaneously done on all the platforms.

Standardized look

A cross-platform app will have the same outlook on every platform which makes it visually common and easily recognizable. While getting a cross-platform app designed for your business you will have to coordinate with one team of developers hence increasing the uniformity across all the platforms.

Resourceful development

As mentioned earlier cross-platform apps are not only beneficial for the businesses but for developers too. They are definitely convenient if not easy to develop. Many frameworks offer modules that easily assimilate with different tools hence increasing the functionality of the app. That enables the developers to deploy the codes on all the platforms simultaneously.

Some cons of the cross-platform apps

It is quite difficult that any technology comes without any disadvantages, same is the case with cross-platform apps. They have their restrictions and offer some cons too.

Difficult integration

The hardest part while developing a cross-platform app is the integration as different platforms use different UI. The storage options also vary thus forcing the developers to utilize cloud storage. It highly recommended to hire professional team like mobile app development Virginia based company as a lack in any of the mentioned areas can hinder the app.

Cross platforms can be rigid sometimes

Every platform offers various flexibilities according to their software qualities. When you are developing a cross-platform app you have to ignore those flexibilities and keep the entire focus on cohesion. This limits your work frame and thus the app is developed under certain boundaries.

Conclusion

Cross-platform apps are the most popular apps as they offer numerous benefits for not only the businesses but for the developers as well. They have an extensive reach which expands the prospective clients’ number and the popularity of the app. They have a lot of benefits but on the other have limitations as well. It is extremely important for any business to look carefully into the decision while getting a cross-platform app developed and hire an experienced team to get all the benefits out of it. They can be valuable for your business but can prove to be the opposite if the limitations are not sensibly taken care of.

Author bio

Nancy Lamas is a marketing professional with several years of experience in mobile app marketing and technology services. She has worked across various platforms and disciplines of communication including media relations, social media, events, content development, internal communications and brand marketing.